Daniel’s letters were addressed to Rachel, full of apologies and a raw honesty she had never witnessed in him before. “I’m sorry,” one letter began. “I never wanted to hurt you, and I hate myself for the lies and the facade. I’m trapped in this spiral, fearing the shame of admitting my failures, fearing that you’d leave me if you knew the truth.”

He wrote about his attempts to quit, his short-lived successes followed by crushing relapses. Each entry catalogued the burdens he bore alone, the stress of maintaining the illusion of a perfect life while internally collapsing under the weight of his addiction. Rachel’s heart ached with a strange combination of anger, pity, and a profound sadness that she could not reach him in his darkest moments.